Another source suggested the parents could have been planning something far more sinister, speculating if “the Turpins were saying goodbye for another city, or whether they were plotting to end their lives entirely”.

The news comes as a California judge has barred David and Louise Turpin of contacting their children for three years and keeping 90 metres away, the BBC reports.

The parents appeared in court on January 18 and plead not guilty to all charges. According to CBS News, they are facing 12 counts of torture, seven counts of abuse of a dependent adult, six counts of child abuse or neglect and 12 counts of false imprisonment. The father is also charged with one count of lewd act on a child.

Police discovered the Turpin children— aged 2 to 29—starving in their Californian after a 17-year-old girl managed to escape and call police.